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Canadiens 4, Bruins 3, SO

MONTREAL (AP) -Alex Tanguay came up big on a historic night for the team he loathed while growing up.

A Nordiques fan growing up in Quebec City, Tanguay, scored the shootout winner to give Montreal a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night in the Canadiens' first home game in their 100th year.

"It feels good," said Tanguay, acquired from Calgary in a draft day trade in June. "You know, I'm nervous, I'm still nervous, still trying to find my way with the team, trying to get my momentum and trying to get in the groove."

Boston's Marc Savard scored his second third-period goal with 47.6 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 3.

Savard, whose power-play goal 7:12 into the third made it 3-2, scored into a wide open net after Price was caught behind the goal when Michael Ryder's dump-in took a strange bounce off the right boards and over the back of the net.

"We were just fortunate that it didn't cost us two points tonight," Price said.

Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Maxim Lapierre gave Montreal a 3-0 lead, beating Thomas in a 3:19 span late in the opening period.

"Obviously, the first period, that's not the start that we wanted," Bergeron said. "We never stopped battling and we came back in the game, and I think that's a big point, but we could have avoided going to overtime by playing well in the first period."

Price stopped 31 shots for the Canadiens, who entered their 99th home opener - lest the lockout that scuttled the 2004-05 NHL season be forgotten - on the strength of a season-opening 2-0-1 road trip.

David Krejci also scored for Boston, which has lost 12 straight regular-season games to Montreal, including a 0-7-1 mark last season.

"We dominated the play and then it seems like we slowed down," Tanguay said. "We played to their level the last two and we're a puck possession team - we need to be playing with the puck, we need to be skating and I felt like we didn't play as well the last two periods and let them back in, and fortunately for us we got the two points."

Scattered boos were heard from the Bell Centre's upper reaches throughout the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game, immediately following a stirring pregame ceremony featuring 12 Hall of Famers who played for the Canadiens.

"I was so busy focusing and paying respect to both anthems that I actually didn't hear them," said Thomas, from Flint, Mich. "Somebody mentioned it afterwards, but I didn't hear it at the time. It would have bothered me if I had."

Kovalev scored a power-play goal with 4:54 left in the first and Koivu added an even-strength goal with 3:22 to go. Lapierre increased the margin to 3-0 with a short-handed goal with 1:35 left to the delight of the sellout crowd of 21,273.

Krejci drove a slap shot from the slot off the crossbar and into the net 7:15 into the second period for an unassisted goal that cut the lead to 3-1.

Savard drew the Bruins within one with a power-play goal just after a lengthy 5-on-3 that saw Price make a spectacular glove save on Zdeno Chara's point shot.

Former Canadiens greats Emile "Butch" Bouchard and Elmer Lach dropped the ceremonial first puck as the team began the home schedule of its centennial season.

The 88-year-old Bouchard - who rose from his wheelchair and stood to drop the puck - and 90-year-old Lach were on hand along with Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur, Bob Gainey, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and Dick Duff as the team unveiled its new "Ring of Honor" on the wall above the last row of seats in the upper bowl.

The rinkwide mural features individual headshots and the name and uniform number of the team's 44 players and 10 builders in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"It's pretty neat," Price said. "It just shows the history behind our hockey club here and it's a pretty proud moment when you see guys like that come out and they're still showing our colors."

The Canadiens have outscored Boston 51-22 during the 12-game winning streak.

Newcomer Georges Laraque made his Montreal debut and fought Bruins forward Shawn Thornton 2:28 into the first period, immediately after the Canadiens' new enforcer stepped onto the ice for his first shift.

"I know all you guys are surprised at how long it took but I'm pretty sure that this year the seven seconds will be beat a couple of times, so get used to it," Laraque said.

Notes: Bruins D Matt Hunwick and C Vladimir Sobotka made their season debuts after being recalled Tuesday from Providence of the AHL. ... Laraque, a Montreal native who signed as a free agent, missed the Canadiens' three-game road trip and didn't appear in any preseason games because of a groin injury. ... The Canadiens have 54 wins, 20 losses, 16 ties and one non-regulation loss in their home openers since joining the NHL in 1917 as one of the four founding teams. They began play in 1909-10 in the National Hockey Association.